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Week 8: Arts-based Health Promotion - Coggle Diagram
Week 8: Arts-based Health Promotion
by Beth Clark
The transformative potential to ignite social change can come from participatory, arts-based methods in health.
Early participatory approaches tried to ease oppression and lift up the poor, and today still is used with marginalized populations (e.g., youth - missing voice in policy).
Theater is one example that has been called "entertainment education" which can elicit the development of critical consciousness leading to activism and resistance.
The process of engaging in art can bring unity and solidarity to a group, leading to feelings of empowerment and action for social change.
Community building and organizing finds power in the use of art.
Art can be used for community assessments.
Art is special in its ability to communicate a message (or draw attention to an issue) and create an emotional response.
Embedded in the collective life of a community, it can be built up through its stories, rituals, songs, etc.
Art is a powerful tool for health promotion in its unique ability to cross barriers of language or culture.
Using art as a vehicle to get out your thoughts and feelings and be heard is important especially for marginalized communities whose voices are often shut out from important conversations and decisions.
Iconic works of art have been used in many countries to promote a social movement.
One use of art is as a tool by which participants are engaged, well-being is boosted, and community engagement and participation increases.
Arts-based strategies have been shown to foster community resilience, such as the ability to positively respond to traumatic events.
Art participants get to reflect on how to convey something specific through their art (e.g. hope), stirring up that resiliency to press forward and be engaged.
Art is healing both individually and collectively.
When health promotion uses arts-based methods to address social and health inequities, it is important to be mindful of the social and political context, center key voices (e.g., crisis survivors), and incorporate decolonizing practicies.
Participatory practice (in HP) is cyclical in nature, going between reflection and action, unearthing and addressing health inequities surfaced.
Health is political - health promoters must acknowledge how history and current society affects health, especially health inequities.